Thomas Carlyle

The surprising origin of “the dismal science” [Slavery versus Free-market capitalism]

2 Comments / Economics, Philosophy /

Reprising from my interview with economist David Henderson: I asked him how economics came to be called the “dismal science.” The source, he explained, was Thomas Carlyle, the nineteenth-century historian and essayist. The surprising reason for his coining the phrase? Carlyle was attacking free-market liberals for advocating the end of slavery. Free-market liberals argued that […]

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David Henderson on seven myths of free markets

Leave a Comment / Business Ethics, Economics, Politics /

I interviewed Dr. David R. Henderson after his talk at Rockford entitled “Seven Myths of Free Markets.” Professor Henderson teaches economics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and is a research fellow with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Dr. Henderson also explains the surprising, true origin of “the dismal science.” For more about Professor

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